


Heart

by scurvaliciousbay



Series: Inquisitor!Kass and Companion!Mel [16]
Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types
Genre: Cute, Fluff, Other, Short
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-08
Updated: 2018-12-08
Packaged: 2019-09-14 09:49:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16910679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scurvaliciousbay/pseuds/scurvaliciousbay
Summary: Kassaran creates a necklace for Melarue. For OC Kiss Week, Jan 2018





	Heart

**Author's Note:**

> Melarue belongs to circadian_rythm

As it turns out, the easiest part was killing the dragon.

At first, Kass had been worried about even  _finding_ a dragon that was not Corypheus’s disturbing pseudo-archdemon beast. She wasn’t the most versed in Qun ideology when it comes to this, but she doesn’t want to use a tooth from  _that_ , what with worries of corruption and everything. But lo and behold they find her in Crestwood, big and purple and much more beautiful than Kass had been expecting.

Killing had not been as good as she thought it would be. It resounded in her, something heavy and final, leaving her feel oddly guilty. Still, the dragon was threatening the townspeople and it was not being shooed off, so it needed to die. It wasn’t too difficult to gather a few teeth from the corpse inconspicuously. Bull knew, but there were few things that Bull  _didn’t_ know.

The second task turned out to be the most difficult. These necklaces have very specific carvings into the tooth, and to get those carvings, there are very specific tools. Tools that the Qun does not like to let go of. Through a combination of Josephine and contacting Shokrakar and other kiths, Kass acquires the tools, but it takes  _months_. And then it’s another six weeks before she even finishes carving the proper symbols into the now split tooth.

When she’s finally done with the tooth, Kass comes to the realization that she is really about to do this. It’s…she’s not entirely sure how Melarue will react. Yes, they have said “I love you” to each other, they now almost always sleep in the same bed, Ash even tentatively calls them “Nanae”. They are together, but this is… _together_. She is not entirely sure how to explain the difference either.

She wraps each tooth half in a small red cord and steels herself. They are free to reject the offer and still love her. Rejecting  _together_ is not a rejection of together. She loves them, that doesn’t need to change.

Kass puts the necklaces into a small unadorned box, she doesn’t need prying eyes for this next part. She is about to leave when one of Josephine’s runners enters Kass’s room, winded from the stairs.

“Give yourself a moment to breathe, I understand it is quite the climb,” she says dryly, setting the box on the nearest nightstand. The runner nods, catches her breath and informs Kass that there is a matter that requires her immediate attention.

The rest of the day is filled with Kass trying to calm an ambassador from Nevarra over some squabble he had with a teenaged apprentice mage. Alright, maybe it was less of a squabble and more of the mage accidentally,  _accidentally_ , singed the ambassador’s ridiculously frilly shirt. Things are only made worse when the Nevarran discovers Dorian, a Tevinter, who is in the process of trying to get a firmer alliance with Tevinter families he knows to be more progressive. Apparently, any alliance with any Tevinter is an insult to Nevarra.

Kass struggles to find the wherewithal to care if the supercilious fool is insulted. He drones on and on about the various indignities he is suffering at Skyhold when Cassandra enters the room and blessedly sets him straight.

If there was ever a time her lineage has come in handy, it is here. The ambassador will only listen to a Pentaghast it seems. Kass enlists Cassandra to help her for the rest of the day to keep the man to a tolerable state. She reminds herself to repay Cassandra back for this soon, maybe with a horde of smutty books.

The ambassador insists on sharing dinner and “will not suffer the messy air of children who are not suited to the tables of adults discussing important matters.” He also mentions potentially redecorating the entirety of Skyhold. Kass thinks his face could stand to be redecorated with her fist. It is a miracle she doesn’t hit him or say anything other than smile, laugh, and inform a runner to tell Ash that she is dining with Melarue this evening.

Incredibly, the Nevarran keeps them well into the night since he finally decides to discuss actual alliance issues halfway through the dinner. Josephine even looks like she wants to hit the man, or at least use her stronger, fighting words.

Hours later, she is finally free to retire for the night. Ash is already asleep, and Kass kicks herself for not being able to spend more time with her. Tomorrow…tomorrow she will have breakfast with her and tuck her into bed, foreign ambassadors be damned.

Kass kisses Ash’s forehead then heads up to her own rooms, exhausted from the day.

It is only when she sees Melarue with a plain open box sitting in their lap does Kass remember the necklace. She left the box on the nightstand by their side of the bed, so of course….

“I can explain what it is,” Kass says and Melarue slowly shakes their head.

“I know,” they say, their voice low. Their head is still bent looking down, their hair falling to hide their face from view.

Kass shifts her weight from foot to feet and worries her bottom lip.

“You have grown to mean so much to me, more than I could have imagined really. There is not a day that passes where I am not grateful for you, and each day I love you more and I think I cannot love you more than I do but the next day I do and…it’s been in my heart for months, what this means. Half of my heart is filled by daughter, and the other is you.”

They do not immediately respond. They tentatively reach into the box and remove one of the necklaces, inspecting the symbols. She can’t read their face and her heart races. Kass wasn’t actually expecting them to reject her, though it makes sense. They could do better, she knows, she’s not as pretty or alluring or elegant or really even that adept at being Inquisitor.

She swallows thickly and makes to step out of the room when they speak.

“I…do not deserve this.”

She freezes. They what now?

“Of course you do,” she whispers, striding to the bed. They finally look up at her, eyes shining in a tell-tale fashion. She gently takes their face in her hands and presses her lips to theirs, reassuring them. She pulls away to whisper it over and over again, they deserve her love, they deserve  _so much love_. It boggles her mind that they cannot see how much love they deserve. But it’s a simple enough thing to show them where they cannot see, that is what she is here for….

“Melarue, you have my love whether you accept this or not, how I feel will not change. This is…simply saying that we are two halves of a whole,  _together_. If it is too much, I understand.” She keeps her voice soft and tries to guard her heart, still slightly worried. They lean their forehead against hers and take a deep breath.

“ _Ar lath ma, vhenan_ ,” they whisper, “I love you, my heart. I accept.”

Her heart feels as though it bursts at their words. A tiny sound of affection and surprise escapes her and she kisses them thoroughly before leaning back and gently taking the necklace from their hands. She ties it around their neck and tries not to cry.

“ _Kadan_ , my heart,” she kisses them again, long and deep and slow, “I love you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
